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Food Photography Workshop In Charleston - A Recap.

May 16, 2012

Thank you all for your words of comfort and virtual hugs. I came to you from a very vulnerable place and your words held me strong throughout some pretty dark hours. Some comfort came from learning that since he was an organ donor, my cousin's heart is beating for someone else. This bit of news calms some of my anger.

Looking at old family albums helped a lot. Also did diving head first into editing and reflecting over the workshop that Clare Barboza and I instructed together a couple of weekends ago. Each and everyone of these pictures made me smile and brought me back to a good place. The place Clare and I would call "the life we want to lead and the work we do to get there". Teaching workshops is one of the things we do to find ourselves in that good place. It's about sharing information, connecting with people and helping them find the way to what makes them happy with photography.

I wasn't nervous co-teaching with Clare as much as I was hosting our first duo workshop in my town. Clare and I jive. There is only support and care. Genuine interest and zero drama. We work through things at different or similar paces, depending, but always with the understanding of the greater picture. In this case, the workshop, the attendees, the info dispersed and the well being of everyone. Debriefing over Prosecco each night was also a genius idea...eheheh

Over the course of the few days we had planned, the attendees participated in 5 different themed photo shoots, visited the Charleston farmers market and had dinner at Lana for on-location shoots. It was intense, and yet we made sure to have plenty of downtime to enjoy the beach house, the waves and the gorgeous weather all the while editing and sharing tips over wine and cheese each evening .

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We tried to create vignettes and photo opps at every turn of the house, providing the attendees with lots of props and surfaces from both our studios and finds that Clare had scored along the road trip from Seattle to Charleston. We might have packed more than our husbands would have liked to carry up and down the stairs but at least we had plenty to play with for 3 days!

I love Charleston. I love everything about it. The people. The places. The artisans, artists and farmers. I also love everything that is bizarre and antiquated about this town. I love how forward and backward it can be at times. Thus, my worry that the attendees would only see certain facets of Charleston and miss the good details. I needn't worry. We had an amazing group of smart, talented and beautiful women join us on this workshop. I fell in love with each and everyone of them for their generosity and wit. I left the workshop exhausted but completely inspired.

Kuddos to our super awesome assistant and kitchen manager Laura who kept us well fed and organized. Could not have done it without her! It was pretty much non stop action in the kitchen. I can't believe she's moving at the end of the month!!

I am really glad that Clare, her husband Joe and their pup Nina stayed a couple of days after the workshop. Our husbands developed a similar friendship to ours while we were at the beach house workshopping. We knew they would. They are awesome guys...!

I was curious to see how our pups would bond and no surprise there either. They loved each other. Bailey and Nina had a great puppy romance. Full of love bites, nips, runs and even sharing a bed a couple of times. Tippy, the older dog was pretty much unphased but give a dozen years, I am sure he would have fought Bailey for a spot next to Nina...

We took those extra days with them to chill by the dock, process the whole weekend, plan even more fun for next year (stay tuned!) and walk around downtown. The old streets, old stones. Our favorite spots.

Gave us the chance to discover new and fun places to go back to like Black Tap Coffee Shop. A new favorite of mine.

A much needed rest and recovery. A time to focus on the details as well as the broad strokes.

I leave you with some images from Charleston taken after the workshop was over. This is the town as I see now. Fall is different. And magical too which is why I am thrilled that Clare and I will be teaching two more workshops here in November. Can't wait!

Here are some of the posts written by the attendees about the workshop. Thank you ladies, it was an honor!

I wish I could have made this workshop happen. Time, money, life, family, small child, other side of the country were all in my way of this amazing opportunity. Just wasn't in the cards even though I would have LOVED to be there!

I can only imagine how the participants felt and how much they learned and will always cherish this gift you gave them! WOW!

Wow... your post takes me back. What a fun time we had learning. Pam and I also found Black Tap on our way out of Charleston... so good, and a bit of a Portland vibe:) Thanks again... beautiful photo essay of our workshop and Charleston.

My condolences to you. I'm sorry for your pain. I've only driven through Charleston, but it has been on my list for years now. I can't wait to someday get up there and spend some time. Your photographs (as usual) are stunning, and only serve to stoke that fire for me more. Hope you continue to remember the good.

Your pics look great! I'd love to attend a workshop like this, but haven't quite figured out how to get info about them (other than from recaps after the fact) :) So glad you went to Black Tap! That was opened recently by a good "friend of a friend" of mine. My boyfriend and I checked it out when we were there a few weeks ago. He seems to be doing well!

Also, while I'm not quite up to speed about what you've been going through, my heart goes out to you. I hate to see people in pain over a loved one. You're in my thoughts.